Half-Pipe Homonyms

Skateboard star Mayumi Miyaki helps Buzz cover the Big Air Jam. You won't be bored as May and the other skaters do daring board tricks on the half-pipe-and get a lesson on homonyms from Buzz, too. Grab big air in the All-Star Activity and you'll take home the trophy!

Children's Literature

Buzz Star, a reporter for P-L-A-Y TV, helps readers learn about homonyms in this volume of the "Grammar All-Stars: Kinds of Words" series. Reporting from the Big Air Jam, Buzz and skateboard champion Mayumi Miyaki discuss the action while Buzz teaches May about homonyms, or words with the same spelling or pronunciation but different meanings. Buzz breaks it down further and teaches May about homographs, words with the same spelling, and homophones, words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. These words are used throughout the chapters and appear in bold print. Sidebars, called "Half-pipe Hints," appear in each chapter, offering quick and eye-catching definitions of terms also defined in the main text. The sidebars engage the reader by suggesting activities like thinking of a homonym for each bold-faced word or finding pairs of homographs and giving their meanings. The large, vibrant illustrations show some of the action at the skateboarding competition, as well as occasionally provide visual depictions of homonyms, such as showing May, the girl, wearing a nametag and standing next to a calendar page showing May, the month. A summary at the end of the book offers the definitions again and examples of the different types of homonyms. The repeated explanations and bold words in the text make it easy for readers to understand the concepts presented. An "All-Star Activity" with twenty incorrect homophones to find lets readers show they have mastered this part of grammar. The action-packed story, large print, brief chapters, and bright illustrations make this a fun way to learn about homonyms, while the bold words and clear definitions make it effective. Reviewer:Amanda MacGregor